American Bred REDONE Episode 10: Stuff of Legends
by American Companion
Summary: Kathryn and the Doctor have landed on opposite sides of a planet-wide war after TARDIS is knocked from the vortex, and each have agreed to help those they landed with. But as Kathryn begins to try and create a story separate from the Doctor's, she starts to ignore other warning signs related to her creation by the Rahki...and the reason behind it.
1. Chapter 1

_Sounds of shaking._

_ "What was that?"_

_ "I don't know."_

_ A crashing slamming._

_ "The doors!"_

_ Tearing space._

_ "Doctor!"_

_ Thump._

_ Thumpthump Thumpthump._

The echoing sounds in the Doctor's head melted into that of his heartbeats. He was lying down. Something was stuck to his forehead. His left wrist was cuffed to something. Hospital bed?

He opened his eyes. White ceiling. White walls in his peripheries. A monitor watching his brainwaves, but not his heart rates. The controller cared about alive, not health.

Footsteps and a door. The Doctor sat up as best he could. His whole body hurt. Had he fallen from somewhere?

Two men in uniforms stood in a doorway directly in front of the Doctor. He didn't recognize the insignias, which was disconcerting. Then again, war history was the only thing that was not his specialty, so he probably shouldn't be too worried.

"What is your name?" the man with the most chevrons asked. The language was Rapluan, a common language during the Third Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Fortunately, as with every language, the Doctor spoke it, though the man's accent made it a little strange. It sounded Southern, but Southern where? More pressing was the question of why it didn't automatically translate. That meant the TARDIS wasn't nearby.

Where was Kathryn?

"I'm not asking again."

The Doctor blinked, the officer's voice interrupting his train of thought. "I'm the Doctor," he answered with his usual confidence. "And you are…"

The officer's friend's eyes widened ever so slightly hearing the Doctor's name. The man questioning the Doctor blinked but otherwise had no reaction. "A doctor of what?"

"Everything. Well, sort of," the Doctor sniffed. "I'm not sure I have all the certificates anymore. Didn't actually pick up most of them though. Took all the classes though. Where is this?"

"You're the one who fell through the barrack's roof, doctor." The way the still nameless officer said the name made it obvious he didn't consider it as such. The Doctor frowned.

"I fell through a roof? That's new. How did I get there?"

"Asking us wouldn't do much good, considering you're the one breaking into high security bases."

"Whose?"

"I'm still not sure who you are. What exactly do you do?"

"Anything I please. Well, to a certain extent," the Doctor corrected himself. "I've got this friend—rather irritating and persistent girl—who keeps wandering off and changing things up, and then there's the TARDIS, who doesn't always take me where I want to go. Cheeky for a blue box."

This time the eyebrows on both men went up. The questioning officer turned to his subordinate. "Get the nurse. I want to see the results of his chest scans and blood tests."

"What about the Field Marshal?"

The superior officer hesitated. "We make certain before telling him."

* * *

Mauve lights were flashing somewhere through the smoke. Kathryn stumbled towards where the door to TARDIS was, knocking it open and falling on the ground outside, coughing. Now that it had an escape route, the smoke billowed out of the Type-40, still obscuring Kathryn's vision. Her hearing, however, continued to work, picking up voices and snatches of sentences.

"…blue box…!"

"…what he looks like?"

"…will the companion…?"

"…really worked?"

"Julius will know."

"… he's alright?"

"…get the medic?"

Kathryn pushed herself up, the smoke clearing somewhat. She saw dozens of faces in the early morning light, mostly men. She instantly tensed when she saw that all of them had weapons.

"Let me through!"

Kathryn turned her head sharply to the left even as she stepped backwards towards TARDIS's doors. The crowd parted and a man stepped into the open space around Kathryn. She took him in at a glance; humanoid, reptilian look to his eyes and skin—crossbreed, early thirties. Built, not heavily so. Armed. He stared at Kathryn with an almost reverent expression, but she felt a…an intense emotion twist her stomach when she saw him. She wasn't sure if she was scared of him, or wanted him dead, or just wanted him gone.

"Are you one of the Keepers of Time?" he asked, a little breathless.

"Are you in charge of this company?" she challenged.

"No mam."

"Then I'll speak to whoever is."

"Not until I know who you are."

"Not until I know who _you_ are," Kathryn returned, closing TARDIS door behind her and feeling it lock. The man straightened up.

"I am Lieutenant-General Julius Robertson of the Iuhin Army. I specialize in the weird and incomprehensible."

"Then I take it you haven't gotten around very much," Kathryn bit at him. "There is only one specialist in that field and I'm not looking at him." She held her chin up. "I'm known as Trouble Moore," Kathryn said, leaving her first name off. Her middle and last name sounded scarier without it, and with the Doctor who knew when, scarier was better.

"That's what you're called," Julius said, un-intimidated. "Are you one of the Keepers of Time?"

"I'm known by a lot of monikers, Robby. Be a little more specific."

"Do you travel with the Time Lord known as the Doctor?"

"Yes, but if I don't take to why you want to talk to him you are never going to find him."

There was another gasp. "It's true," one of the group whispered, his translated accent Northern. "The Blue Box is real. They really exist."

"Come with me Miss Moore," Julius said to Kathryn. "The Field Marshal will want to see you."

* * *

The door to the Doctor's room opened again. The two men from before entered, accompanied by a nurse. She quickly took off the brain scan tabs while the minor officer hurriedly un-cuffed the Doctor from the bed. The man who had done all the talking before tossed the Doctor's folded clothes on the bed.

"I am Colonel Yeseana of the National Ranngourian Armed Forces. I have been ordered to take you to one of our specialists for questioning."

The Doctor got out of the bed and pulled the curtain that was around it to afford himself some privacy while changing out of the hospital style gown. "What sort of specialist?"

"One who will tell us if you are a genetic fraud sent by the Ihuians or the man you claim to be."

"The who?"

"The Ihuians."

"Ihuians…" the Doctor muttered to himself as he tried to place the name. "What planet did you say this was?"

"Are you simple?"

"What? No, and that's a rude question," the Doctor snipped back. "I was sort of…flung here after my ship got hit. Haven't the slightest idea where I am."

* * *

"You're on Beriin," Julius told Kathryn. "One of the outskirt planets of the Third Human Empire."

"No great and bountiful?" she asked sarcastically, glancing edgily at the people lining the route that they were taking. The tents, rough equipment, and general miss-match of everyone's clothes made her think that this wasn't a well-funded enterprise. Either that, or this was some kind of revolution. Not that she'd be disappointed if it was.

"Our benevolent rulers don't bother much with anyone on the edge," Julius said bitterly. "We're left to ourselves. Beriin is the planet no one cares about in an Empire that's falling apart. Half the time they don't even remember to collect the taxes."

"Then I take it you aren't picking the fight with them."

"No. We're fighting the Ranngour, on the Southern side of the planet."

"So that's why you all sound Northern. I guess every planet has a North," Kathryn added, mostly to herself. She shot a glare at one of the nearby starrers, trying ineffectively to scare them off. "What year is this?"

* * *

"7632," the Doctor said, checking his watch. "Not a very good year. Lots of disease, and some of the worst art the human race has ever spit out." He parted the curtain grandly, adjusting his tie. "Where's the rest of my stuff? And my coat; I got that from a friend of mine. It's a good coat."

"Once we have decided whether or not you are a threat your things may or may not be returned to you," Colonel Yeseana said with a blank face. "Follow me."

He left the room and the Doctor kept pace with him. The other officer followed behind. The Doctor was starting to wonder if he was just for show. "You Ranngourians are from one of those insectoid-human cross races, aren't you?"

"How could you guess?" Yeseana said dryly, obviously not wanting an answer. The Doctor ignored the tone, as always.

"The exoskeleton sort of gave it away, though the multi-facet eyes helped. Who are you fighting again?"

"The Iuhin terrorists on the Northern side of the planet."

"Oh, that's right. Reptile-human breeds. Mostly because of the Homo reptilians from Earth you know. Once the Silurians and the Humans got used to each other they started sharing gene pools. Not surprising, considering they were from the same planet."

"History anyone would know," Yeseana said sharply. He slid a keycard down a reader next to a door. It unlocked and he opened it, the Doctor still with him. A small man with glasses looked up from a table in the small room.

"Is this him?" the small man asked with a hint of awe to his voice.

"That's what you're being paid to be certain of," Yeseana answered tightly. "Frankly, Dr. Usher, I never had faith in your stories, and I'm still not sure how you managed to convince Field Marshal Lathezia to run this insane project. I leave you to it."

He shut the door rather loudly and the Doctor blinked at the door before sitting down. Dr. Usher stared at him for an uncomfortable moment.

"Am I supposed to do something?" the Doctor asked. Dr. Usher gave a small start.

"Yes. Yes, you are," he answered, tapping a screen built into the table top and pulling a stylus from his breast pocket. "Nothing much, just a few things to be certain you are, indeed, the Doctor."

"What sort of questions?"

* * *

"Mam, I'm just trying to check—"

"Will you stop maming me?" Kathryn snapped at Julius. The way he kept dodging her questions to ask his own was annoying her to no end, and all the whispering people weren't helping. She stopped and crossed her arms. "I'm not moving until I know what, in the name of the Mason-Dixon Line, you think I am."

"A hero," one of the crowd said. Kathryn stared around at the people.

"Are you serious?"

Julius gave the speaker a glare, then motioned Kathryn inside a nearby tent. He seemed rather irritated with Kathryn, which was fine with her; she didn't really like him either. Once Julius had thrown out the current—sleeping—occupant and had the tent flaps closed, he spoke.

"We don't think _you_ are the hero, **mam**," Julius said, straining the words. "Frankly, I expected the Doctor to come," Julius told her. "He's the one we've all been counting on. His harem of women was only included as a passing thought in the records, barely even a foot note. You're the sidekick, as it were."

"Harem? _Sidekick?_" Kathryn repeated. "Is that what you think I do? It would take me an hour to list the number of times I've pulled that man's skinny backside out of a fire, and another two just to tell you how often something he's tried would have flopped without me on the other end! I don't know what ya'll want a universal fix-it man for, but I swear on Robert E. Lee's tomb that—"

"We are in the middle of a planet wide war, Trouble," Julius barked, suddenly right in front of Kathryn. "Right now you are standing on the losing side, and only someone straight out of a story book is going to be able to turn it around." He lowered his voice to be certain only Kathryn heard his next words. "These people have pinned their last hope on a fable, and whether you like it or not, _you_ are part of that fable. If you are half the woman those stories make your kind out to be, then maybe even you could be of use."

Kathryn stuck her tongue in her cheek and took a deep breath. "What, if I may be so bold as to ask," she said sarcastically, "makes you think the Doctor would show up here? I know a friend of his that had to wait nearly two centuries; what makes you think he'd help out a stick-in-the-mud like Beriin?"

"As I've already made quite clear, we have nothing else."

Kathryn stared at Julius, processing what he was saying. "The Doctor doesn't do warfare," she finally said.

"We don't want a warrior!" Julius said, voice strained. "We aren't trying to fight."

"Then what do you expect him to do?"

"We don't know!" Julius took a breath. "What almost no one except the very highest officers know is that this…" he searched for the word "…excuse for a protest we have going on has nothing left. We need the Doctor; we need his intellect, we need his creativity, we need whatever he can offer us to settle this dispute. If one of his followers is all the universe will give us, then we will take it."

Kathryn sat down on cot next to her. "If you just admitted that to a total stranger, then you really are at the end of your rope."

"Hanging by a thread, mam."

Kathryn stared at the canvas under her feet for a long moment before looking up at Julius. "Just what do you think I am?" Kathryn asked again, this time in overwhelmed disbelief. Julius looked her in the eye.

"You're the stuff of legends."

* * *

"What color is your home planet, this Gallifrey?"

"You've asked that question three times," the Doctor said, exasperated. Dr. Usher blinked, looked at his notes.

"So I did. Red, you said?"

"Yes; from space, Gallifrey looked red."

"What do you travel in?"

"For the fifth time, a TARDIS. A Type-40 TARDIS with a broken chameleon circuit that makes it look eternally like a blue box. What exactly are you trying to find out?"

"I already gave you that answer. What can you tell me about your exile on Earth?"

"Nothing I haven't said before."

"What can you tell me about a group called UNIT?"

"You've asked me everything over and over again Usher," the Doctor snapped. "Whoever it is you think or don't think I am you have your evidence. Either you believe that I am the Doctor, or you don't. I'm done with circles."

Dr. Usher sighed, took off his glasses, and wiped them with a pocket handkerchief. "You're quite right. You aren't one of my lab experiments; I don't need to run you six times." He put his glasses back on and proceeded to fidget with his stylus. "The thing is Doctor, is that we've been waiting for you for a very long time, and we can't just accept anything at face value."

"Why have you been waiting for me?"

"We're in a war, of planetary scale, and we need you to end it."

"Then you waited for nothing, because I don't fight in wars."

"Despite what we've heard about you, we don't want a soldier, Doctor," Dr. Usher stressed. "Volunteers are lining up for that task every day. We don't want a weapon either; those are far too easy to invent."

"Then I don't understand what it is you waited for."

Dr. Usher sniffed, scratched at his upper lip, continued to fidget with his stylus. "Beriin is a colonized planet of the Third Great and Bountiful Human Empire. As all colonized planets have, there are…stories. I'm sure, being who you are, you know what these stories have to say about you."

The Doctor sighed, sat back in his chair. He knew; he knew all too well the picture most of them painted of him, the names they passed out. He was far too busy not to be noticed by people.

Dr. Usher took the Doctor's silence for the agreement it was and continued on. "Most of us on Beriin have taken those stories to heart. So, we set up every sort of signal we could devise with the one message; Doctor help us."

The Doctor leaned forward, being certain he understood. "You tried to flag down a time ship?"

"Yes."

"You must be desperate."

"We are," Dr. Usher confessed. "The Ranngour have been battling against these terrorists for a very, very long time Doctor, and we really are running out of options. We needed a story, no matter how farfetched, to help us figure out what do to next. Doctor," the small, nervous man said with sudden devotion, "you are the stuff of legends."


	2. Chapter 2

Field Marshal Logan Lathezia of the National Ranngourian Armed Forces was, for lack of a better word, a very slick man. His exoskeleton gleamed dully. His multi-facet eyes seemed to slide around and absorb everything and his uniform was perfectly ironed. Even his voice left some people feeling oozy. But no one, neither Ranngourian nor Iuhin, could deny he'd done a bang up job, even if not everyone was certain what that job was.

At the moment, the Doctor didn't care. He wanted his things back (some of those pocket contents were not items to be lost) and he wanted to hear whatever weak excuse the Ranngour had decided to use for war. Lathezia was simply the boss, and therefore the person to ask about it.

Lathezia was already standing when the Doctor entered the office. He stared at the Doctor. For a moment there was some sort of emotion the Doctor couldn't quite understand, then it was replaced by nearly reverent disbelief.

"So all of those children's stories…not stories at all." He looked the Doctor in the eye as though they were on nearly equal footing. "I take it you've agreed to assist the Ranngour."

"I haven't decided yet," the Doctor said, lifting his chin slightly. "I don't usually walk into a war knowing it's a war. Besides, I have a friend I need to find. Why should I take the time to help?"

Lathezia's eyes slid over the Doctor's face, never leaving it as he sorted his thoughts. He knew this man, knew his history, his precious ideals. He knew them better than anyone on this planet, save that one Iuhin—what was his name, Julius Robertson. Lathezia knew what plea would hit the Time Lord's hearts.

Lathezia also knew what had really started this war; a war he was, try as he might to fight it, emotionally invested in.

Making his choice, he motioned for the Doctor to sit as Lathezia began his explanation.

"Beriin has always been home to two species—the Ranngour and the Iuhin. As with any planet or society, cast systems exist, even during the 77th century."

"Is this a race war?" the Doctor exclaimed.

"A political one," Lathezia hurried to explain. "The Iuhin were, generally, the working class, whereas the Ranngour ended up becoming the upper classes. There were, obviously, exceptions, but as a rule of thumb that's how the races were sorted. Recently, the Iuhins have pushed for rights; higher wages, more medical benefits, betterment of life."

"And you went to war over that?"

"No!" Lathezia's multi-facet eyes twitched. "Beriin is a rather…out of the way planet. This makes it difficult for any sort of government to function, particularly one where the peoples have developed intense racial hatred for each other. Debates raged, protest marches and strikes occurred, and the politicians tried to strike a balance. You can't erase race barriers overnight, Doctor."

Again that weird flicker of emotion. The Doctor wished it would stay still long enough for him to identify it.

"Things exploded," the Doctor said blandly. Lathezia nodded.

"The Iuhin thought things weren't going fast enough. So, they took things another step by blowing up several government buildings at once. From there, racism flared up between both sides—at least the fanatics on both sides—and turned into a full on war."

"Sounds like a problem you have to sort out on your own."

"We would if they would listen to us!" There was a hint of desperation in Lathezia's voice. He paused, collecting himself before speaking again.

"We have tried, again and again and again, to meet with the Iuhin. Sometimes they'd contacted us. But every time we make the attempt, something goes wrong. Setups, no-shows…sometimes the person reaching out to us is the one killed by their own people. What started as a protest has become…" Lathezia shook his head. "I'm not even sure what their goals are any more."

"Why do you need me?"

"The stories of you exist on both sides of this planet, South and North, Ranngour and Iuhin. You are even, for some, very nearly a religion. Our hope is that if the Iuhin hear from you, the Doctor, a man of legendary wisdom and ability; that they will meet with us and we can finally have peace talks."

"You want me to act as your ambassador."

"As the overseer for diplomacy, for both sides." Lathezia leaned forward slightly. "This fight has gone on for twenty-four years. We don't want it to go any longer."

The Doctor turned the story over in his head, weighing it. Finally he gave a nod.

"I'll help you."

* * *

Field Marshal Xaira Strnad of the Iuhin Army was a rather Napoleonic woman; she was short, good, and she obviously knew it. She pronounced her name first name 'Zarah' and her second one 'STIR-naad'. Her uniform was practical—though the only thing that gave away the fact Xaira was military was a red and black braid secured around her left shoulder. She had a rough yet charismatic air, and her reptilian eyes never seemed to blink or miss anything.

Kathryn instantly liked her, but reminded herself to be wary. Leaders like Xaira had a tendency to push things too far if they thought it was good for their side. Kathryn had yet to be convinced that this fight was worth bringing the Doctor back for, or even if she should put off a search for him long enough to do anything here. Not that her efforts would amount to much; she wasn't really that legendary.

Xaira was standing by a table with an older man, charts and what looked like game tokens spread out in front of them. They both looked up when Julius entered with Kathryn. He saluted at the two people. They saluted back, not really paying him any attention. They were both focused on Kathryn.

"This is your Doctor?" the man said gruffly. "I thought your story was about a man, not some girl."

Kathryn stared coolly back at the man, chewing idly on a toothpick she'd found in her pocket. He had a practical look to him, and the way he was glaring at her without being obvious told Kathryn that the man put no faith in fables. Instantly she liked him, not that she could show it.

"The Doctor's MIA at the moment," she said, noting his Northern accent and thickening her Southern to match it. "He isn't showing up anytime soon either, seeing as TARDIS is still smoking. Rough entry and all."

Xaira looked at Julius, slightly confused. "TARDIS?"

"That's the Blue Box mam," Julius explained. "Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."

Xaira looked back to Kathryn. "Lieutenant, I'll take help from whoever can offer it, but I'm with the general on this one; you said the Doctor was a man. This…child appears to be just that."

"I'm fifteen, in case you were wondering," Kathryn drawled.

"Fifteen!"

"She's one of the Keepers of Time, mam," Julius explained quickly. "She was in the Blue Box when it landed, and she's traveled with the Doctor."

"How do we know?" the general demanded. Kathryn looked at him.

"You don't, because whatever I say could be a pile of road apples for all you know. But frankly, I haven't got time to convince you I've traveled with the Doctor. I've got a friend to find, and right now have no reason to be interested in your little spat."

"This is no spat, girl," the general growled. "I don't know when or where you come from, or if someone your age would take notice, but not all people are just handed decency of living."

Kathryn frowned. "This is a civil rights movement? What happened to protest marches?"

"We tried those," Xaira answered, a tinge of disgust in her voice. "We Iuhins didn't have much against being the working class, not really. We take pride in working hard and benefiting from that work, and the petty politics of the so-called upper crust didn't affect us in the slightest. It was a stable system, if imperfect. But then we starting asking for the things we paid for and worked to supply: healthcare, voting, decent living, schools, better wages. The Ranngour"—the way she said the word easily showed her hatred—"refused. Unfortunately, with distinct jobs belonging to distinct races, things got…ugly."

"Racist politicians?" Kathryn asked bluntly. Xaira nodded.

"Some of us understood the pace they would have had to work at." Julius said. "You can't erase racial hatred overnight. But the Ranngour were deliberately dragging their feet about anything we tried to do."

"So you decided to stage a revolt?" Kathryn asked, unsure if she was being sarcastic or not.

"No!"

She raised her eyebrows at the simultaneous denial from the three officers. Her mind made the connection before one of them could explain.

"Some young idiots on the other end pushed the wrong batch of young idiots on this side and your young idiots decided to change the world by blowing it up first and things just fell in."

The still-nameless general nodded. "Precisely. Personal emotions of all Iuhins aside, and even in the face of the increased scorn, we were incredibly ill-equipped for a war to start with, even more so now."

Kathryn shrugged. "So wave the white flag and have a peace talk. You don't need me; you need a diplomat."

"But that's why we called you."

Kathryn stared at all three of them before laughing. She immediately stifled it, but still shook her head. "I am the last thing you need for peace talks. Just send a telegraph and—"

"Don't you think we've tried that?" Xaira interrupted. "We have done our level best to contact the Ranngour, but every time a meeting is arranged, it goes wrong. They aren't there, or our people end up shot by snipers. A few times the ambassador for the Ranngour ended up shot by their own people. They seem intent on wiping us all out."

Kathryn chewed on her toothpick for a moment, thinking. "What exactly do you expect me to do about it?" she asked, her voice not as sharp as before.

"The legends of the Doctor are known across Beriin," Julius said, the subject obviously his territory. "Some even regard the stories as a religion. Even the Ranngour believe in the Doctor's existence. If he—or any of his companions—were to speak for us, then perhaps the Ranngour would listen. Or if they didn't, then maybe the Traveling Physician could think of a way out that we can't see." He met Kathryn's eyes. "We need your help Trouble."

Kathryn fiddled with her toothpick, very carefully studying what she knew, both about the war and about herself. Eventually she sighed.

"I'll warn ya'll that I have almost no experience in playing nice, war, or diplomacy, but I can identify with the root problem. I'll help you."


	3. Chapter 3

Kathryn rubbed her eyes. She'd been staring at the maps for two hours, and really had no idea what she was doing. All the explanations of landmarks and descriptions of people had gone way over her head for the past thirty minutes, and she still hadn't had a chance to work on TARDIS.

It must have been obvious that she was wearing thin, because Xaira paused.

"Trouble, if this is too much for you, we would understand. You aren't—"

"No, it's fine," Kathryn protested. "This just…this isn't how the Doctor and I usually do things."

"Then pray tell," the general—whose name was Glendon Taylor—said sarcastically. "How does the great Time Lord and his traveling friend usually operate?"

"We get sucked into problems and make it up and we go along, insult each other, and throw in a few giddy grins with a lot of split-second decisions about life and death things," Kathryn answered flatly, rubbing her forehead. She paused. "That's it. I'm thinking too much."

Kathryn closed her eyes most of the way, but not quite all the way, standing perfectly still as she cleared her mind.

"We need to make our own invitation."

"What?"

Kathryn opened her eyes, looking at the three officers. "We walk into their main sitting room and start talking."

"You want us to just…walk up to them?"

"No, I'm going to walk up to them. If I pop up in their HQ, they can't avoid a conversation."

"You're far too young!" Julius protested.

"I've got a history of B&E, and I've done this with the Doctor dozens of times."

"We've sent in soldiers who've trained longer than you've been alive," Glendon mocked. "You expect to just saunter in?"

"Of course not; I'd need to know about the place first. Do you have schematics?"

"Trouble," Xaira said firmly. "I can understand that you have talents; legends are usually superhuman to some extent. But you are rather young, and I have no wish to send in a girl that might get shot. At least not alone. Others will go with you." She raised an eyebrow when Kathryn started to protest. "A small group. This is a diplomatic mission; you need others with you."

Kathryn pushed her tongue against her cheek, wanting to protest. She didn't like working with people other than the Doctor; she knew him, and there was no chance she would accidentally kill him. But Xaira obviously wasn't going to let her walk out.

Kathryn shrugged. "Your graves." She scanned the map, finding one of the few markings she'd understood. "This looks like the nearest Ranngour base. How long would it take to get there?"

"What makes you think we can get in?" Glendon shot at her. "If we walk up to the front gate with guns, they won't give us a chance to talk."

"Walk in the front door?" Kathryn exclaimed. "Really Glendon; I can respect courage, but that's stupidity. No, I'm going to use another way."

Xaira, smiling slightly as though she had already guessed, asked, "What do you propose?"

"The Labyrinth."  
Kathryn frowned at Julius. "The what now?"

"The Labyrinth," Julius repeated. Glendon gave Julius a stare.

"Robertson, that is what we call a myth."

"So is she!" Julius protested, gesturing at Kathryn. "And so is the Blue Box, but even you went out to look at it."

"What's the Labyrinth?"

Julius turned back to Kathryn. "When Beriin was first colonized, evidence was found suggesting someone had lived on the planet before. Some of the pieces talked about an underground system, about half a mile beneath the planet surface."

"Why did they have it?"

"Transport. Major highway. Hiding spot from climate change. Burials. All of the above. None of the above." Julius shrugged. "It hasn't been found yet."

"Because it doesn't exist!"

"Maybe it does," Kathryn interjected. "One thing the Doctor's taught me is to not discount legends; the second you do, they usually rise up from the muck and try to eat you. Unless they're trying to ask you in for tea, but that only happened once." She turned back to Xaira. "I was going to try and get TARDIS going again, but if I can use the Labyrinth instead it's less likely I'll get lost in the vortex or go somewhere else entirely. Julius, I want you to pull all the bits you have on these catacombs together. It would help if I had the files on whoever runs the Ranngour group. When you've got all that, come find me."

"Where are you going Trouble?" Xaira asked, her voice sharpening. Kathryn glanced back over her shoulder.

"I'm going to see if I can patch up TARDIS, and then see if I can contact the Doctor."

* * *

"Ah, my things!"

The Doctor took the bag from the private, who saluted Lathezia.

"Sir, we looked at the satellite feeds as you ordered."

The Doctor interrupted, pausing his search through his recently returned effects. "Did you find anything on the Northern end of the planet, anything recently landed?"

"No Doctor," the soldier answered. "We found nothing unusual."

"Thank you soldier," Lathezia said, dismissing the private. The man gave another salute and left. Lathezia looked at the Doctor. "Were you hoping for something specific?"

"The TARDIS," the Doctor answered. "I think my friend is still in there, and I was hoping the TARDIS had been able to keep herself somewhere near to where I fell out."

"At least your companion isn't with the Iuhins. If she's young…"

"Oh, very," the Doctor said. "Not yet sixteen. Still, not a good idea to have her unsupervised. Kathryn has a nasty habit of draining the energy out of anything she touches."

"Pleasant people you travel with."

"Not her fault," the Doctor commented, going through the pockets of his returned trench coat and setting the contents on a chair. "She was programmed that way; her designers were rather careless in her make, didn't finish her properly."

"She's a genetic creation?"

The Doctor's voice was distant. "Sort of; it's complicated."

The Doctor's face showed confusion as he looked at his returned items on their chair, as the table in front of the Doctor was covered with maps and file folders. The file folders were there so the Doctor could understand more about the leaders of the Iuhins, and the maps were so the Doctor could try and find the best, least dangerous place to meet.

"Coat, sonic, psychic paper…hang on."

"Missing something?"

The Doctor didn't look up at Lathezia as he checked the coat pockets again. "Yes. Are you people in the habit of borrowing shiny things?"

"Not that I know of."

"Anyone with a key collection?"

Lathezia frowned. "Why would we collect microchips and keycards?"

The Doctor paused. "Right. 77th century. You don't actually have proper keys." He turned fully to Lathezia, trying to describe it. "It's metal, about this big, silver, round on one end with a section of metal sticking out of the round bit, bumps all over the stick out bit…" He saw the blank look on Lathezia's face. "You're not getting any of this."

"It sounds like a strange thing to trust security to. What does this…key of yours unlock?"

"My ship. It's usually in my pocket, but it seems to have gone missing."

"Considering your entry, it's likely it fell out somewhere." Lathezia went to the door. "I'll have people keep an eye out for it."

"Thank you."

Lathezia went to his office down the hall and locked the door behind him. He pulled down the window shades before unlocking one of his desk drawers. Emptying the drawer of folders and memory chips, Lathezia popped open a false bottom. He hesitated a moment before reaching in and removing two things; a small box that looked to be a communicator of sorts, and a bright silver key.

Lathezia swallowed, staring at the Key. He'd had his suspicions, but now…now he really knew for sure that this was the literal key to the Doctor, guaranteed access to the last TARDIS in existence, and maybe, just maybe, his key to a life.

He quickly pushed a button on the communicator, waiting for a flat tone which told him he could speak.

"Jahra Delta-009, Planet Beriin, circa 7632, current name Logan Lathezia, plant on the side of the Ranngour." Lathezia's voice was crisp and firm, the oily quality gone. "The set-up has worked; the Doctor is here at my location. He is currently traveling with Scorch. Though she is not on planet as of this moment, she is with the TARDIS." Lathezia took a breath, looking as though he was about to breach protocol. "I wish to be assured of a personal existence upon my return to the Lab. I have been able to acquire a key to the TARDIS. I repeat, I have a TARDIS Key in my possession."

He listened, not breathing, for a minute. Then he took the communicator away from his mouth, closing it. A relieved, joyful smile spread across his face.

"I have a life. I'm going to live." He laughed un-characteristically. "I'm going to live!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Hello?"

Julius knocked again on TARDIS's door. "Trouble mam, are you in there?"

There was a small clicking noise, followed by a shout. "Come in and close the door behind you!"

Julius did so. He was so used to simply acting when orders were given that he had firmly shut the door and heard the lock click before he really saw the interior of TARDIS.

"Bigger on the inside, remember to breathe, close your mouth, don't forget to blink at some point."

Once again, Julius simply reacted to these commands, though he still stared. "How?"

"Just chalk it up to magic. Really, it's a lot easier to explain that way."

Julius looked around, this time trying to see Kathryn. "Mam?"

"Don't start that mam business again, Robby. Call me Trouble or you'll be in it."

Julius walked up the ramp towards the large cylinder that looked like a control station. Under the floor beneath the control station he could see the bottom half of Kathryn. She seemed to be repairing something, though he couldn't make head or tails of all the wires and cords.

"How go the repairs?"

"Meh, so so. I know a bit, but the Doctor is really the one to do this. It's like the difference between changing the oil in a car and changing the spark plugs."

"Spark plugs?"

"Maintenance for very, very old cars."

"Isn't there a manual you could use for your ship?"

"She's not mine. There used to be a manual, but the Doctor threw it out. He didn't agree with it. Was there anything else?"

Julius crouched down next to the hole. "I brought the files on the Ranngour, and what I know of the Labyrinth. The one on the Labyrinth is…less complete than I would like it to be."

"Less complete is better than nothing," Kathryn told him, wriggling so as to get out from underneath TARDIS. She set her hands on the grated floor to pull herself up. Julius reached for one of her hands to help her out. She jerked back as he touched her, but not before he felt the spark. He pulled back, staring at his hand and then Kathryn with wide eyes.

"What…what was…?"

Kathryn sighed as she finished clambering out. "I'm not what you might call human, Robby," she explained. "To make an absurdly long story a great deal shorter, I am a run-away from a clone race. A Jahra Rahki, if you've heard of them. The Rahki decided to design me oddly, which includes this really, really irritating and uncontrollable ability to absorb energies; light, heat, sound, mind, temporal. This means if I have skin to skin contact with someone, I drain them as well. So…don't touch me for your own health."

Something moved over Julius' face, and that same strange feeling from before hit Kathryn's gut again. She suppressed the fight-or-flight urge that hit her. It had been bothering her in the officer's tent, but she'd been able to ignore it. Now it was as if Julius had been struck with his own want to harm her, and she was responding the same way.

The urge faded along with whatever thought Julius had had. He gave a slight start, then reached into his pockets, searching for something. He pulled out what looked like latex surgeon's gloves, but far thinner. They almost seemed to not be there as he handed them to Kathryn.

"We call them SecondHands. They fit and mold directly with your skin, but serve as a protection. We use them when regular gloves would be in the way, but the material we're working with is still dangerous or delicate."

Kathryn put them on. She could hardly see where they ended and her wrist began, and couldn't feel them at all. Wiggling her fingers, she nodded.

"These will work. Now, let's see about that Labyrinth of yours." She waved at him to follow her as she went to a small side room that had a table. Julius set down a memory disc and gingerly laid down a very slim folder.

Kathryn frowned slightly. "Your maze isn't part of a file on that disk?"

Julius shook his head, putting on a pair of SecondHands. "No. All record of it is on parchment; extremely old parchment. It wouldn't be able to take the scanning, or any other form of recording for that matter." The folder was opened, exposing the scraps.

And that was pretty much all it was. Pieces of manuscript that Julius explained seemed to refer to the Labyrinth or one of many entrances, and one large sheet of paper that looked like a rather good map, if the various labels of landmarks could be read.

"Unfortunately, our decryption programs can't make much sense of it," Julius explained, "and the people we have that are good at that sort of thing can't be spared."

Kathryn felt him watching her, obviously expecting something amazing. Kathryn wasn't sure why TARDIS had translated the words for her and not for Julius, unless Kathryn had figured it out on her own. But in that case, why had she been able to understand him speaking?

Unless Kathryn was really that fast on the uptake when it came to linguistics. She shook her head slightly. TARDIS was damaged, and that included the translation matrix. TARDIS was always better with spoken rather than written words.

"You don't understand it?" Julius sounded disappointed.

"No, I understand it. Gimme a moment." Kathryn disappeared momentarily and returned with a pad of paper and pen. She started copying down a few of the labels on the map.

"It's a trick I used to use when I was younger," she explained, scribbling hastily. "I was obsessed with inventing codes and things. Thing is that with any language, there are certain letters and symbols used more often than others. So, you switch up the symbols."

"What do you mean?"

"Well in English, 'E' is used more often than anything else and every word needs a vowel, that kind of thing. So you assign two shapes for each vowel, and maybe three for 'E'. And then you can also change ciphers from word to word, letter to letter…grand fun."

"How do you know what system these people used?" Julius asked.

"No idea; just do." Kathryn handed the pad of paper to him. "There. I've done my bit."

Julius scanned Kathryn's notes and flicked a glance up at her. There was something very heavy and cold in that glance.

It was gone almost before she saw it, and Julius was looking at the map with a grin spreading over his face. "Some of these…these are close!" he exclaimed. "Very close, if the land hasn't changed too drastically." His finger hovered over a spot. "And this one…if I'm looking at this correctly, you'll literally end up in the basement of the Ranngour base you picked out earlier."

Kathryn smiled cheekily. "Not bad for someone so young, yah?"

"Trouble…are you really only fifteen?" Julius asked cautiously. Kathryn nodded.

"Yeah."

"Isn't that a bit young to—"

"Be so good at what I do?"

"I was going to finish with 'to be traveling with the Doctor', but your sentence is good too."

Kathryn shrugged. "I guess. Not like I chose either of them."

She turned and went back to the console room, going back under the flooring. Julius followed her, still questioning.

"I thought the Doctor's companions were older than that. At least, the stories of the Blue Box make them sound that way."

"I suppose most of them are," Kathryn said. The noise of repairs paused. "Why do you call her the Blue Box?"

"That's all the legends really describe her as, and it's the only name they give her. The Traveling Physician's Blue Box. She doesn't have any other names."

"I see." The noises started again.

"Trouble, what did you mean that you hadn't chosen to travel with the Doctor? I was under the impression that it was a voluntary thing. And if it isn't, it really should be going off of what I've studied."

"I suppose I did choose to travel with the Doctor," Kathryn admitted. "I mean, he did ask me about it first. But I didn't have a great deal of say in it."

"I don't follow."

Kathryn tone was biting. "The first time I met the Doctor, I was ripped from my life and thrown into TARDIS. The person I'm a copy of got to return to her life, and I got one of my own, and come hell or high water I will keep it that way."

"I'm sorry."

Kathryn paused again. The apology sounded…sincere. As if somehow Julius had been responsible for what happened. Maybe he was just overly compassionate.

"It's not all bad," Kathryn explained, wanting to comfort the soldier somehow. "I mean, I've seen things and done things that most couldn't imagine. I've learned languages and met people…"

"What's it like? Traveling with him."

"Terrifying," Kathryn said bluntly. "Life-threatening. Heartbreaking. Mentally challenging." She crawled back out and grinned at Julius. "I wouldn't trade it for anything." She stood, sighing. "Well, I've done what I can below."

"You've finished then? You can find the Doctor?"

"No. I've still got to look at the console, and then if there's anything else I can do I'm sure TARDIS will let me know."

Julius frowned. "It speaks to you?"

"She's not an it!" Kathryn protested. "TARDIS is very much alive. What you see, the machine…it's just the outside. It's what she is, not who. Skin and hair doesn't make a person, any more than TARDIS's paneling makes her." Kathryn rubbed the console, staring up at the cylinders in the glass tube. "She's alive and wonderful, and…and she's not at all what you think she'd be."

"But wasn't it—I mean she, built?" Julius asked. "And if she was built, and was programmed for a specific task, then whatever character she seems to have the programing still trumps all, doesn't it?"

Kathryn searched for words. "Well…sort of, I guess. I mean, whatever happens, she will act the way she always acts, which includes the way she travels. But…but she sometimes pilots us where she wants to go, and she moves rooms and thinks. Sure, she moves through time and space as she was born to…but really, she chooses how that gets used. She was even the one who chose to travel with the Doctor, but she could have easily stayed on Gallifrey or gone with someone else and could even leave now if she really wanted to. TARDIS…TARDIS is very much herself, despite what you would call her programming."

Julius nodded slowly, looking at Kathryn rather than the console as she was. "I'll need to think on that."

"You do that," Kathryn answered dryly. "Don't forget your parchment; find a way in. I'm getting back to the repairs; sooner I get this done with the sooner I can hunt for the Doctor."


	5. Chapter 5

"What about this spot?" the Doctor asked, pointing to a place on one of the maps. "It doesn't look like it's controlled by anyone."

"It's also a swamp," Lathezia said flatly.

The Doctor sighed. "Then we go to them."

"We've been over that."

"You asked for my help; that is my suggestion. You either go to them, or you invite them here. There isn't really any other option."

Before Lathezia could argue, there was a rapping on the door. A private entered and saluted before anyone bid him enter. Lathezia returned the salute and nodded for his soldier to speak.

"Sir, we found it. Our satellites just picked up on what seemed to be space junk, but from the images we have before losing contact we think it's the Doctor's Blue Box."

"Where is it?" the Doctor asked quickly. The private swallowed.

"The middle of the Iuhin headquarters, sir. Very deep in enemy territory."

The Doctor stood up straight, inhaling. He turned sharply to Lathezia. "Can you bring up your satellite images in here?"

Lathezia nodded at the vertical holographic projector on the table, barely visible through the physical maps the Doctor had requested. The Doctor didn't bother with tapping it and searching; instead he whipped out his sonic screwdriver, the blue light from it blazing as the projector came to life and almost instantly went to the satellite images. After staring at maps for so long, the Doctor had no problem locating the area above the Iuhin encampment. The picture was blurry, then flickered. Now it was completely black save for a very, very bright dot in the lower part of the screen. The Doctor grinned.

Lathezia stared at him, slightly awed. "What did you do?"

"Told your cameras to look for artron energy. Time, I guess you could call it. The TARDIS runs off of it, and Kathryn will be drenched in it." He flashed a grin at the private who had brought the information. "Well done."

For a moment the Doctor was worried the soldier's heart would give out from the compliment. Lathezia made a rapid clicking noise with his throat and the man's multi-faceted eyes twitched back into focus. "You're dismissed."

The private made a crisp salute and left. The Doctor frowned at Lathezia. "What was that?"

"Doctor, I must ask you to remember what you mean to everyone, particularly the younger volunteers. Anything you say…it's unchecked in their minds."

The Doctor blinked, understanding, almost for the first time, exactly what the stories about him did. Oh, he'd always known that they were there, and people had to be reading them. But to place so much store and hope in them…and then to place him on such a high pedestal…

It was not a safe position for him. If it went on too long it would go to his head, and the Doctor knew what happened when he played at being a god.

The Doctor began to check every pocket of his suit-coat as if looking for something. Not finding the object, he picked up his trench coat and went through the same motions.

"Have you lost something else?" Lathezia asked, stepping slightly closer.

"I don't know," the Doctor said. "But if I know Kathryn, then…" He paused, shoving his hand down one sleeve. The Doctor's face lit up and he turned the sleeve inside out, carefully pulling apart the lining. Sewn into the coat was what appeared to be a very small compact, about an inch in diameter. The Doctor held it in his hand, grinning.

"What is that?"

"This is a CeaXhell. It's a sort of communicator my friend is partial to. She recently acquired a paranoia, athazagoraphobia."

"The fear of being forgotten?"

The Doctor frowned, thinking. "Yes, I suppose a touch of that too, but more about the fear of being left behind. She got stranded not too long ago and couldn't contact me. I should have known she'd do something like this, sewing it into my coat so she'd always be able to reach me." The Doctor opened the compact/communicator and withdrew a very small ear bud. Placing it in his ear, he ran his thumb around the communicator and paused, listening.

An expression of frustration crossed his face and he pulled out the ear bud again.

"What is it?"

"I've been put on hold," the Doctor snapped. "Apparently, TARDIS can't take the call right now, so the occupants will be alerted of my message as soon as communications are repaired," he said, obviously reciting. Irritation came out in a sigh as he closed the CeaXhell.

* * *

Kathryn rolled out from under the console, nodding with satisfaction as she wiped grease form her hands. She'd done fairly well for knowing almost nothing. Still, a few things worked now.

Kathryn rubbed the console, looking up at the center tubes, once again a wonderful turquoise. "What was it lady love?" she questioned gently. "What threw you off so much that you crashed like that? What hit you so hard that you couldn't hold on?"

A small flashing light caught her eye. Her head tilted curiously as she took a closer look. There was no label, only a small, black button.

Buttons always intrigued her, and this one was no different. So, Kathryn pressed it.

_You have one missed call,_ a recording of the Doctor's voice said._ No message was left. Would you like to return the call?_

Kathryn raised her eyebrows. She hadn't known TARDIS had an answering machine, let alone a *67 button.

"Yes," Kathryn said clearly.

_Connecting._

There was an absurd trilling sound. It had gone on long enough to border on the annoying when there was a soft click, signaling the person being called had picked up.

A slightly breathless voice answered. "Kathryn?"

"Doctor!" Kathryn exclaimed with surprise. She paused, suddenly at a loss for words. "Hi!"

"Hello," he said slowly. "Are you alright? You didn't pick up an hour ago."

"Yeah, I'm good," she answered. "I had to clear out the smoke and re-attach a few wires. It's sort of weird though; the locals think I'm some kind of legendary bigwig—actually, they think you are and it sort of runs over onto me. I've been chatting with them. Got a job as a diplomat."

"You're a diplomat? For the Iuhins?" the Doctor asked in disbelief.

"Wait, you're on Beriin? Perfect! So am I."

"I know. I can see the TARDIS on the Ranngour satellites."

"You can what?"

"Hang on; let me get you on speaker; Lathezia needs to hear this."

Kathryn had read the files Julius had left for her. She knew who Lathezia was.

There was a knock on the door and the sound carried over the line. "What was that?" the Doctor asked.

Kathryn pulled down the view screen to see what was on the outside of TARDIS. "Just the Iuhin expert on you." Raising her voice she called, "Come in Robby!"

The door opened and he came in holding up several pieces of paper, excited. "Trouble! I found the entrances, and I've got a way to navigate the Labyrinth!"

"Are you letting people wander about my ship?"

Julius froze. He glanced around, searching for the voice's owner. Kathryn winked at him. "Julius, I've got the Doctor on the phone." Her smile faded. "He's with Lathezia."


	6. Chapter 6

Julius face flicked from awe to anger to fear to a dangerous sort of resolve in the space of a second. He came to stand by Kathryn.

"Lathezia?"

"Lieutenant-General."

"I take it the two of you know each other," the Doctor's voice said.

"Well enough Doctor," Julius replied. "We've…built history."

"Good," the Doctor said cheerily. "Then since everyone knows everyone we can schedule a peaceable meet."

"Doctor, do you know what the argument is about?" Kathryn asked. "I mean, actually understand?"

"Yeah. Race war." There was a pause. "What have they told you?"

"The same thing," Kathryn said, her voice odd. She hesitated, then seemed to plunge into something. "Julius, let me see that map for the Labyrinth entrances."

"The Labyrinth is a myth," Lathezia's voice nearly crooned, though with an odd bite to it.

"So am I," Kathryn snapped back.

Julius spread out the map, watching Kathryn carefully. She glanced it over before speaking. "Julius, what's the date?"

"The 11th of Dungar, 2nd moon rising. Sun up in an hour."

Kathryn's voice was crisp. "Doctor, we've already arranged a meeting place. Time; today. Place; your living room. We're going to walk in, and you will hear what we have to say."

"Kathryn…I suggest you tread with caution."

Julius frowned slightly, but Kathryn didn't pay him any attention. She wasn't listening to the Doctor either. "You heard what I've said. We'll be a small group, unarmed, and there for straight up peace talks."

"Will you really?" Lathezia asked with mocking oiliness.

"Listen you hypocritical insect," Julius literally hissed, his long tongue slithering out from between his teeth. Kathryn felt the same wave of instinct as she had before. "We have access to the Labyrinth, which I assure you is real. If we wanted to we could over run you from the ground within hours. We still can, so I suggest you tread very, very carefully. I have resources at my disposal, and I _will_ use them if you push me to it."

"And I have my own connections, lizard," Lathezia returned, all slickness gone from his voice. "I suggest you remember what those are, and exactly what each of us has with us."

"Doctor, I'll see you soon," Kathryn quickly interjected.

"We'll be speaking on this," he said sternly, with a twist of worry in his tone. Kathryn's shoulders dropped.

"Yeah. I know."

There was a soft click as the Doctor hung up. Julius instantly turned on her.

"Why did you do that? You just gave away our biggest advantage!"

"I know the Doctor; you don't," Kathryn shot back. "Springing up on them would not help your case with him, and I have no wish to anger a Time Lord by going in with my gun on the table and my cards under it. You practically killed it with what you said to Lathezia. What was all the junk about resources anyway? I thought you crazies had nothing."

"They don't know that," Julius defended himself. "Or would you give that away too?"

"You were the one who asked for my help, not the other way around!"

Julius' reptile eyes studied Kathryn unblinkingly. "So we did." His gaze flicked up and down. "You hear and read a lot of things in my job; I'm starting to understand why you're talked about so much."

Kathryn let out a sigh. "I warned you at the start I wasn't good at the diplomacy thing. My version of an argument well-argued is a smoking Colt .45."

Julius laughed slightly, then put his head to the side. "The Doctor…he called you Kathryn."

"It's my first name," Kathryn admitted. "Don't go telling anyone now," she glowered, mock threatening.

"Promise." Julius sobered. "I guess I'd better tell the Field-Marshal about this."

"Yeah. Find a few men to go with us too. No grunts, no guns. And neither Glendon nor Xaira is coming with us. Only reason an officer of your rank is joining is because I really don't think you'd relinquish that map."

Julius smiled. "You're right about that." He went for the door, pausing with his hand on the door handle.

"Trouble…why is the Doctor with them?"

"I don't know Julius," she answered quietly. "They probably found him when he fell out of TARDIS and poisoned his mind."

"Wouldn't he be smart enough to see past their lies?"

"Not if they were very careful."

Julius was silent for a moment. "If the side the Doctor always helps is the right one, does that mean what we're doing really is wrong? Should we have stayed where we were?"

"I think the right side only ever depended on where he landed first, Julius."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes Julius; I am." Kathryn looked him in the eye. "Don't forget that when you read your legends."

* * *

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, sighing. Lathezia didn't pause in the slightest after the call ended. He was immediately pressing one of the buttons on his desk.

"Get Colonel Yeseana," he ordered. "I want fully armed groups of men picked out and dispersed around the building. Our lower levels are to be searched and patrolled for anywhere that there might be an entrance—hollow spots, grates, old doors, sewage pipes—I don't care how obscure or small it is. I want a list of any and all openings you find. We're going to have visitors tomorrow, and they need to be properly welcomed."

"What are you doing?" the Doctor exclaimed, anger rising. Lathezia's multi-faceted eyes bored into the Doctor's, the insectoid suddenly very much a commander of armed forces.

"We're a day behind that phone call; it's the 10th of Dungar here. I have been dealing with the Iuhins for far too long to simply let them walk in without being ready, particularly Julius Robertson." Lathezia said the name with obvious malice, a strange clicking noise coming from his throat as he spoke it.

"I trust Kathryn," the Doctor said, using his height to his advantage. "If she—"

"I have nothing against your friend Doctor," Lathezia cut him off, undaunted. "But she is not you. Simply because she is with this group doesn't mean they truly have good intentions."

Lathezia stepped around the Doctor to get to the door. "I have no plans of harming anyone; but I will not be unprepared."

* * *

Kathryn stepped out of TARDIS and locked the door behind her. As she did so, she felt that strange twisting sensation in her gut that told her Julius was approaching her. She turned around and looked at him, his outline visible despite the extremely early hour.

"Where's everyone else?" Kathryn asked quietly.

"We're meeting five others up at the entrance, about a mile off," Julius explained, also speaking low. "I was able to tell them were we were going; you wouldn't know the way."

Kathryn nodded in agreement and Julius led the way out from the camp. Not a minute later, he suddenly asked,

"Trouble…why are you doing this?"

"Come again?"

"Why are you helping us when you're fighting the Doctor in the process? If he's all you have…then why risk losing him?"

Kathryn frowned, pondering the question. "I'm not sure really."

"Look," Julius said, grabbing Kathryn's arm and pulling her to a stop. His face was set. "Those men and women…they really think you're something amazing, just because of the stories. They expect you to lead them; I'm just coming because I've studied the Labyrinth. But you…they are risking their lives because of your plan. So if you aren't in this for a good reason, you might as well leave now."

Kathryn bit her lip, thinking. "There are lots of reasons Julius, or it could be none of them. Maybe I just want to try something on my own, away from parents and the Doctor. Maybe it's one of those 'teen rebellion' stages you hear about. Maybe…maybe I'm doing this because I keep thinking how America and Earth has a history of this sort of thing—social reform and rights wars and things—and I want to see if it will actually work again."

Kathryn gave a half smile. "Or maybe I'm just ornery and want to challenge the legend that is the Doctor and prove that his companions are just as important to the story."

Julius studied her. He seemed to do that a lot. She was starting not to mind as she stared back at him. Finally he nodded.

"Alright then. Here goes."

* * *

"You can't do this!"

"This is a war, Doctor."

"I thought you wanted to end it, not kill the first diplomats they send over!"

Lathezia's oily stare fixed on the Doctor. They were down underneath the base while Lathezia oversaw the hunt for an entrance. "We won't be shooting them Doctor. I simply have no plans of letting them wander about."

"Particularly if Julius is part of the group?" the Doctor bit at him. "What have you got against him anyway?"

Lathezia's exoskeleton prevented a great range of emotions, but the Doctor could see the hatred plainly. "We have a history. Family history, you might say."

"I didn't agree to help you just so you could finish a blood feud," the Doctor said between tight lips. The dim light danced on the leader's multi-faceted eyes.

"This is not about one slithering reptile, Doctor," Lathezia clicked at him, something the Doctor was learning to equate with anger. "None of them will die, not down here. Unless they strike first—which would not surprise me—we will not fire. I have every wish to end this war, enough that we will be meeting them as a diplomatic escort. A room is already being set up; I can have someone take you there if you wish. My hope was that you would help smooth things by greeting your friend when she came through, but it is your choice."

The anger leeched out of the Doctor, most of it. Guns still set him on edge, but these were soldiers; it's what they knew.

"Sir!"

The Doctor and Lathezia turned to see Colonel Yeseana approaching them. He threw a swift salute to his superior, ignoring the Doctor. "Sir, we've found it. The entrance to the Labyrinth."


	7. Chapter 7

"We should have brought a spool of thread."

One of the soldier-cum-diplomats frowned in confusion. Like the others, Mackenzie was of high rank, older and wiser than many of the other Iuhin fighters. "Thread, ma—ah, Trouble?"

Kathryn smiled slightly at the woman's self-correction and then explained. "Part of a myth, from Greece, from a very long time ago. A very old myth, old even in the century I came from. A warrior travels into an immense underground maze to defeat a ferocious creature. A princess gave the warrior a spool of thread so he could find his way through and then back out of the labyrinth."

Kathryn leaned over Julius' shoulder, one elbow resting on his back. He had stopped to look at the fragile parchment that served as a map for the third time. "Speaking of getting through, how's our personal spool of thread doing?" She smirked at him. "That would be a good nickname for you. Thread."

"No."

"You like Robby that much?"

"Would you like to do this?" Julius asked her. Kathryn shook her head.

"I'm good. Just hope to get there sooner rather than later."

"I'm being certain rather than lost." He stood. "Left fork."

The group continued on. The Labyrinth of Beriin, despite its age, was in rather good condition. There were cobwebs and bugs galore and the deeper they went the more they heard small animals moving about, but the structure itself was remarkably sound. Smooth blocks formed tunnels of gray streaked with white, the walls curving to form an arch to help distribute the weight of the earth above it.

Kathryn ran her fingers idly along the wall, feeling the perfect seams between the stones. She paused when she felt odd depressions.

"Hold," she said suddenly. Everyone stopped instantly. "Can I get a light?" Almost before Kathryn had finished asking every beam of light was pointed in her direction. She paused, surprised at the alacrity of the response, then ran her fingers over the writing. There was an arrow carved under it.

"Jel Dayrit…that word probably translates to amphitheater…five qeriahs left. Quimby Center, six qeriahs straight. Pashur Circle, Darin Arena, three qeriahs right. Quzka's Entrance, ten qeriahs left." She frowned at Julius. "Do you think that maybe this whole system is just…just the entertainment block?"

"I doubt it," Julius replied. "It's an awful lot of effort for a few stages."

"It could have been for business things too, or public meetings, or general events," Kathryn suggested. "You can do a lot of things with a hippodrome, if the space is big enough."

"Suppose we'll find out," Julius said casually. "We're bound to run into at least one of those places."

Several turns and half a mile later, the tunnel widened from its already generous spacing to be as wide as an eight lane highway. The five diplomats, Kathryn, and Julius all stopped, staring.

"Wrap me in blue and bury me as a Union soldier," Kathryn said, awed. "It's a coliseum!"

And it was. The bright flashlights everyone carried only began to pierce the blackness of the incredible space.

"Charlene, do you have one of your grav-globes?"

The woman nodded blankly, reaching into a bag and producing three globes the size of softballs. She flung them out in different directions above the area and they hung there, casting a light that paled as it eventually reached the floor.

"And I was impressed with the Romans," Kathryn said softly to no one. "This flattens them, hands down."

"The who?"

She glanced back at Francis, the man who'd spoken, making a mental note that she really had to be careful what she said. While everyone else—including the Doctor—usually ignored her muttering, these people wouldn't. It was uncomfortable and yet oddly empowering to realize this.

Before she could answer, Julius spoke up. "Old race from Earth. Thousands and thousands of years back. They could build incredible structures despite the seeming lack of technology."

Kathryn smiled at him. "Look at you Robby, knowing your history."

Julius's skin flushed a darker green. "History is a hobby. Myths however…usually I only ever studied, well, yours. You should tell the story you started earlier."

Kathryn shook her head, despite the urgings of the group. "No. I know the story, but I don't like it much. The warrior was…was rather…" Kathryn sighed. "He left the princess who'd helped him after their wedding night, and then inadvertently caused his father's suicide because he forgot to change a sail."

"Didn't he kill a monster though?"

"I never said the Minotaur was a monster, Marie," Kathryn said softly. "The king that kept it trapped…the Minotaur's step-father actually…kept him trapped down below, used him to help terrify a nearby country that owed tribute. Every seven years, seven maidens and seven young men were fed to him…never had a choice, poor thing. I'd go mad too trapped in a place like this, impressive as it is." She looked at the adults around her, shrugged. "Not all the characters in stories are easily labeled."

She turned firmly to Julius. "Do we go around or through it?"

Julius thought for a moment. "Our door is the on other side. I'm fairly certain of it. We're trying to get to that Quzka's Entrance, the one you read from the wall. It would take longer going through the arena rather than around." He flashed a sudden roguish grin. "Then again, I've really got nothing against making the Ranngour worry a bit, and I've been looking for this place for years. I doubt I'm going to get much time once peace talks start."

One of the soldiers, a man in his late thirties named Ray, spoke. "Then we go through."

The band started down the steps, not bothering to be in any particular hurry.

Kathryn looked down the rows of seats, shining her light at them. They were made of the same stone as everything else. Shreds of deep purple cloth, a woolish material, and straw showed what had once been cushions before animals used them as bedding. At the end of each isle geometric designs were embossed, the edges clashing not unpleasantly with the curves of the great space.

"What sort of events would have been held here, do you think?" Marie asked, his voice echoing.

"Public debates?" Charlene suggested. "Anniversary spectacles."

"Stage plays?" Mackenzie put in.

"Gladiator fights."

The matter-of-factness in Francis' tone brought forth argument from his best friend, Ray.

"How do you know that?"

Francis shrugged. "Happens now on the Central planets, and history goes in circles, don't it? So the place was for fights and betting."

Kathryn nodded, backing him up. "Sounds likely. Might have been for mass executions too. Pitting large animals against each other is also a choice."

"Let's hope they didn't leave anyone behind," Julius commented as they stepped onto the arena floor. It felt and looked as though it had once been dirt and sand, but was now nearly as hard as the stone steps had been.

Kathryn hung back a few steps, letting the other six continue on. She gazed up at the roof where the three grav-globes, now little more than dots, hung. She looked out over the stands and around at the arches leading from the arena into back places, secret places. The traveler in her wondered what echoes lingered there.

"Trouble?"

Kathryn looked up at Julius. He seemed concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Kathryn said simply. "Just looking. Want to be able to compare it later."

Julius smiled faintly. "Planning a return trip earlier?"

"Julius, are you supposed to be here?"

Julius seemed as surprised to hear the question as Kathryn was that she had asked.

"What do you mean Kathryn?"

"I…I just feel like something's not right. As if…as if something is out of place. There's something…off in the energy spectrum, and I think it's temporal."

"I'm not sure I understand…how can something be off?" Julius asked. "Wouldn't there be signs?"

Kathryn shrugged. "Not if the thing disturbed wasn't fixed to begin with. It's not big like that. It's…It feels like someone was born too early, or too late, or a decision was made that wasn't supposed to have been made." She shrugged again, looking back around the arena. Her voice was distant. "I don't really know. I'd have to ask the Doctor."

"Why would you think this disturbance was me?" Julius asked, voice low.

"Because—"

Kathryn froze, then spun around sharply. Her eyes were shut but she looked as though she were staring and listening hard.

Ignoring Julius, Kathryn sprinted towards the other five Ihuins.

"Away from the wall!" she yelled. "Get to the center now!"

They obeyed instantly, scurrying away from an entrance arch they had been next to. A moment later a creature pounced on the spot they'd been standing.


	8. Chapter 8

It was a creature that even Kathryn, with her imagination and traveling, wouldn't have thought up. Thirteen feet of sinewy flesh was covered in sleek, mud brown fur that was streaked with a rusty color. Four pairs of feet came out of the long torso, each scaly foot that of a bird of prey. A lashing tail was covered in talon-like spikes and scaly skin like the feet had. Four eyes of black and orange and green were laid along the flattened head like a 'V', meeting with the five ivory horns that spread across the head like a demonic tiara. The creature opened its black mouth to hiss a challenge, exposing three independently moving snake tongues lashing behind double rows of serrated teeth.

"What is it?" Marie asked in a horrified whisper, obviously not expecting an answer.

"The Harsa," Francis answered. "Don't you remember the stories?"

"I thought that was all it was," Charlene said.

"Legends always have a grain of truth," Julius said with a quiet firmness.

Everyone save Kathryn pulled away from the Harsa to the center of the arena, automatically reaching for weapons and remembering they had left them on the surface, several miles back.

Kathryn experienced a moment of terror as she stared between the beast and the Iuhins. They were soldiers, but were deprived of weapons. Even so they had moved into a defense formation. Even Julius had joined the organized clump. The beast bunched its muscles, ready to pounce.

On an invisible cue, they all glanced at her as one and the weight of the stories pitched for a strike.

A second later, the legend hit a home run.

Kathryn snapped her fingers rapidly for a second, drawing the Harsa's attention momentarily. "Charlene, pitch a grav-globe at it."

The woman frowned at the order. "It won't hit it."

Kathryn snapped her fingers again. "I know, just pitch it!"

Having identified the snapping noise as a farther target, the beast swung back to the closer threat.

"Charlene, do it now!"

Out of options and throwing her trust on a teenager the tall Iuhin shoved her hand into her bag, withdrew a grav-globe and threw. The moment Charlene let go the beast leapt at her, pushing with the back two pairs of legs and slashing with the front pair. The upward motion of the gravity deifying light distracted it mid-leap, throwing it off ever so slightly as Kathryn smashed into it. Charlene screamed in pain as a single slashing talon ripped down her torso.

Kathryn and the Harsa went sprawling, both up in an instant, circling each other. The long tail swung around at chest level and Kathryn's hands flashed up to catch it. Three spikes made it into Kathryn's back, but she clung to the beast fiercely. It pulled back and up, trying to rid itself of the hanger on. As soon as she was over the Harsa's back, Kathryn let go and jerked to dislodge the spikes from her back, landing on top of the beast.

Clinging to the sides with her legs and the horns with two hands, Kathryn stubbornly refused to release her grip as the thing rolled and bucked, trying to throw her.

Suddenly it shrieked in pain as Kathryn sunk her teeth into one of the ears. With brute strength she snapped two horns off. The one found a shoulder before the Harsa managed to deal her a blow to the head and throw her off its back. Kathryn pulled herself back up, still wielding the two horns. She let loose with an eagle-like scream. The creature hissed and Kathryn's screamed again. The returning challenge was weaker and Kathryn lunged for it with a final screech.

Skittering backwards, the Harsa vanished back inside its lair.

Instantly dropping the horns, Kathryn spun back to the Iuhins. Seeing only blood, she snapped and pointed at the place she had dropped her bag. Marie had retrieved it by the time Kathryn was next to the unconscious Charlene.

"Get her shirt open."

"Trouble, she's not going to make it," Julius snapped. "She's loosing—"

"To hell with your fatalism!" Kathryn shouted. "These people are under my protection and I will not let them die! Get her shirt open!"

Francis obeyed as Ray pulled Julius back. Kathryn had thrown open her bag and had produced what looked to be an entire sheep's fleece worth of gauzy cloth.

"Get pressure on it," she ordered. Mackenzie obeyed, pressing down on the gaping wound that went from Charlene's left shoulder to her right hip.

Kathryn pulled out a box and set it on the ground with a clunk. "How much stuff do you have in there?" Marie asked, surprised.

"Enough," Kathryn answered sharply. Pulling a jar of yellow and pink paste from the box, she ignored any kind of glove and started smearing it in and around the rip.

"Thread the needle in that box and start stitching her up." Francis followed the direction instantly, using a thread that seemed to be made from plant fibers. Kathryn continued using the paste liberally, barely breathing. For months she'd been creating these things from her greenhouse plants and her own distilled energy, hoping that what was her curse would help someone. They had healed, but never to this extent.

It would work. It had to. It had to.

Francis did quick, neat work, and the gap was soon closed. There was a breathless pause. Then the green thread dissolved and the harsh edges of the tear melted together, leaving only a thin, dark green scar. Charlene drew in a raspy breath. Kathryn tipped half a swallow of the contents of a small flask down Charlene's throat, bringing a bout of coughing from the Iuhin woman.

"She'll live," Kathryn finally pronounced. On her word the whole group relaxed, dissolving into relieved chatter. Only Julius seemed exempt, staring at Kathryn as though he couldn't believe her capable of what she'd done.

Charlene was also staring at Kathryn, though for different reasons. But her stare Kathryn didn't see as she repacked her med-kit, silently vowing to give something extra to her Jazque and Zilpho plants(Matilda and Donatello, respectively).

Finally she noticed the silence and glanced up at the faces around her. Awe, wonder, joyful disbelief, hope, and a kind of worshiping fear were in all their eyes.

Uncomfortable, Kathryn stood, clearing her throat and shouldering her bag. Not sure what to say or do, she turned and went back to the broken horns. Everything from the last few minutes was sinking in, bringing astonishment rising, along with a strange giddiness and a self-realization.

She was a legend. She, without the Doctor, was a story all her own. Before she was always second best, ever destructive, having to be saved and taught and reminded…but now…

Kathryn had fixed a TARDIS, read an ancient language, and arranged a peace meeting. She had taken a group into the earth, defeated—without killing—a mythical beast, and brought a woman back from the brink of death.

Turning around, she straightened, holding herself higher as she returned to the group. The others had helped a still shaky Charlene up.

"What was that stuff you used?"

"Plant base with pure energy mixed in," Kathryn answered Charlene firmly, her tone unconsciously tinged with the sureness the Doctor always carried about him. "You'll need to be careful for a week or two, but you're mostly healed."

"What did you pour down my throat? It didn't taste like a plant."

"Heat and sound in liquid form. Cells vibrate at certain frequencies, and most living things use heat to make their systems work." Kathryn set the bloodied horn in Charlene's hand. "Here. A souvenir."

Charlene stared at it, then at Kathryn. "What about the other one?"

"I'll think of something," Kathryn said casually, dropping it into her seemingly bottomless bag. She looked Julius in the eye. "Lead us out Julius. Time we left."

He nodded, still staring at her as though she was a thing entirely unexpected, and he had no idea why.

Kathryn knew, or thought she did. She was no longer just the Companion now. She was Trouble, the Legend.

* * *

Hours had passed for the Doctor and the Ranngour gathered around the opening Colonel Yeseana had found. It had indeed revealed a series of passages, though there had been no way to tell which way was which. The Doctor had shooed everyone out and now he stood alone at the junction, thinking the same things he had for the past hour.

He didn't know who would come through. He knew it would be Kathryn, but what part of her ever changing personality would she greet him with?

She wasn't as swayable as Lathezia thought her to be; countless "discussions" with her had taught the Doctor that. But she struggled to differentiate herself from her past life and from him. She also had a soft spot for social reform and equal rights protests, with no sense of timing for such events.

The Doctor also knew how intoxicating a legend about yourself could be. The friends that traveled with him never figured prominently in the Legends of the Blue Box, and Kathryn might look to change that. Her tone on the other end of the line yesterday suggested it.

The Doctor simply hoped there would be enough pieces left behind to pick up.

Hearing footsteps, he turned his head slightly to face them, grateful this spot couldn't be seen easily from the entrance. Drawing himself to his full height, the Doctor reluctantly—necessarily—called on the image of the Traveling Physician, of the Sandman, and of the Oncoming Storm.

Kathryn was the first to appear out of the gloom of the Labyrinth, followed—or rather flanked, by six strong Iuhins. The Doctor noted their lack of weapons as he also recognized the devoted touch to the way they walked. Something had happened in those tunnels, something that gave Kathryn an air of confidence to match the rips and dirt she wore like badges.

The Doctor didn't flinch as the new-born story approached. He'd faced too many to be fazed by this one.

The real jar came with Kathryn's greeting. There was no grin, no welcoming glint of mischief, no surprise at his being there. Instead he received a Mona Lisa smile and a slight nod.

"Doctor."

An acknowledgement of rank, not the welcoming of a friend. The Doctor's hearts sank, and then hardened. This attitude was dangerous in any living thing; in someone as clever, volatile, and strong as Kathryn it could be fatal.

Ignoring the greeting, the Doctor scanned the small group, measuring them. Solid, older, intelligent. One woman had a torn shirt with blood drying on it. Hardened, firm, likely hurt and resentful of the Ranngour, hopefully willing to make peace. All stared at him as though they might faint when he finally spoke.

All but one; a young Iuhin male, probably not much older than Kathryn. The Iuhin looked between Kathryn and the Doctor carefully, as if he knew a great deal about each and was both eager and reluctant to see what would occur between them. He also seemed…surprised, nearly shocked that the two were at odds, though it was hard to read the scaled face.

"Julius Robertson?"

The man jumped slightly, reptilian eyes widening. A moment passed before the man nodded. "Yes sir."

The Doctor had to bite his tongue to stop his usual protest at being called 'sir'. Right now, it had to be remembered that while Kathryn might have claim to new stories, the Doctor was still the core of the legend. The Doctor hated doing this.

"Lathezia has…mentioned you."

Julius grinned wickedly. "I'm sure he did more than that sir."

A corner of the Doctor's mouth twitched, but that was all. Finally he looked to Kathryn, surprised to see her still wearing such an unaffected, cat-like smile. He'd hoped that passing her over would bother her.

"To whom do we owe the honor of the Doctor as our escort?" Kathryn asked, her tone oily confidence. It reminded the Doctor of Lathezia, and that made him uncomfortable.

"We were a day behind you when you called," the Doctor said, placing himself with the Ranngour for better or for worse. "That gave us time to find your entrance."

Kathryn flicked a glance at Julius, one no one missed. "Then I assume you have armed soldiers waiting on the other end of this maze?"

"There are," the Doctor said evenly. "Field-Marshal Lathezia has…doubts as to your intentions, and set them up as a precaution."

"Whereas we come unarmed and in good faith," Kathryn smiled.

"There are rooms set up for the meetings to begin as soon as possible."

"We had an encounter in the Labyrinth," Kathryn told him evenly. "We need time to tend to ourselves."

The Doctor was hurt at such a formal exchange with such a friend, but showed nothing. "Follow me."


	9. Chapter 9

Hackles rose the moment the Iuhins stepped out of the Labyrinth. The Doctor swiftly vouched for the Iuhins unarmed state before a body search made things worse. Nerves were still taut, particularly when Julius and Lathezia laid eyes on each other.

Had they been cats, the Doctor would have expected hissing and spitting. As it was, they were still obviously moments away from slicing into each other, either with words or with claws and mandibles.

The Doctor was pleased and surprised when he and Kathryn exchanged a brief glance, somehow working together.

"Julius, pull back."

"Lathezia, this is to be a peace bargain."

Shockingly, the two leaders retreated to their lines. Lathezia was silent, reigning in his temper before speaking.

"Escort our guests to rooms so they can tend to themselves. Talks begin in three hours."

"It would be better," the Doctor spoke out suddenly, "if the other diplomat and I met privately as soon as possible. As nominated representatives, I think it best."

Lathezia nodded, as did Julius. "Agreed."

* * *

Kathryn was escorted to one of the meeting rooms. She had two soldiers flanking her 'for protection,' but she didn't feel bothered for once. She wondered if this was how the Doctor was able to walk so confidently, holding the knowledge that they were really more scared of you, and if they weren't you were more clever and stronger anyway. Unafraid because nothing was fearsome when held next to you.

She was left in the meeting room. It was little more than a long table with chairs on either side and neutral paintings on the walls. She didn't see the Doctor, so she took a seat. Kathryn almost sat at the head of the table, but decided that would be pushing it just a tad. She hadn't reached that point quite yet.

After five minutes the Doctor walked in, tall and straight as ever, but stiffer somehow, and more intimidating. He did sit at the head of the table.

"What are you looking for in this Kathryn?" His steady voice echoed slightly in the empty stone room.

"A balancing of the scales Doctor. We don't expect complete equality overnight; just a start. Even a start would be moving forward."

The Doctor looked at her. "The timing is off Kathryn. This is all too early."

"This sort of thing can't come too early."

"Yes it can, and it has in this case." He sighed. "Then again, it's happening. Since Beriin isn't big enough to have a fixed point, we have to work with it rather than fix it."

"You can feel it too?"

"Feel what?"

"I'm not a fancy Time Lord," Kathryn told him, "but I've just felt as if something's…off with it all here. Like there's an extra person, or one too few."

The Doctor studied Kathryn for a long moment. "Kathryn, what happened down the Labyrinth?"

She grinned. "It's a fantastic place; all amphitheaters and—"

"I didn't ask what it looked like Kathryn. I want to know what happened."

Kathryn sat straighter, feeling challenged. "I defeated a mythical beast without killing it. Even got a souvenir from it." She reached into the ever-present messenger bag hanging from her shoulder and pulled out the ivory colored horn. It clattered on the table. "And then I used the plant/energy medicines you usually think are a waste of my blood and time to heal one of the Iuhins that were with me. She would have died, but I healed her."

The Doctor didn't even look at the horn. He gave a short sigh. "And that's what wrong."

"What? That I healed someone?"

"No. That you're still building on it." The Doctor leaned forward on crossed arms. "You must have done something to give them access to that maze, or the Iuhins would have used it earlier. You seem to have done some kind of basic repair on the TARDIS since we called each other. You protected without killing, and you saved the woman who should have died. And now, it looks as though the first peace meeting of a civil rights war, a meeting that you organized, will actually happen."

Kathryn crossed her arms, leaning back in the chair. "You have something against me saving people?"

"Kathryn, legendary figures always have very high pedestals. It hurts a great deal when you fall off of one."

Kathryn scratched the back of her neck, mouth set. She looked back at him. "Is Sir Doctor of TARDIS worried that he might have competition?"

"No." The Doctor shook his head. He looked sad. "Not from you. But I am worried about what it's going to do to you."

"I get one story of recognition on an obscure planet and you think it's going to affect me that badly?"

"It has. You're…sharper, than you were before the crash. A thinner, nastier sort of sharp. As if you're too well-honed to fail."

"It's easy for you to point fingers, Doctor," Kathryn scoffed, going fully defensive. "You're a legend from a planet that exists in fairytales! You have scholars who devote their lives to understanding you. I'm a clone from Nowheresville. I have one story, one shot that people might remember me as more than the footnote of a footnote in the history of _your_ life, and suddenly I'm a megalomaniac."

"No, Kathryn." The Doctor rubbed his face. "You're not listen—"

"And I won't listen." Kathryn leaned forward, trying to find words to explain. "You, of all people, should know the importance of remembering and being remembered. You hold every person you meet in your brain; I've seen you writing in that journal. That's why you always ask names. Because you are people's chances to live on in someone's memory. I just want the memory of me to be more than your shadow."

Kathryn pushed back from the table, grabbing her horn as she did so. The Doctor grabbed her wrist before she could fully stand and pulled her back down.

"I've got nothing against you finding a spot in a history, Kathryn," the Doctor said, still with that old-man-of-the-universe note in his voice. "I just don't want it to be for infamy."

"Thanks for the concern Doctor, but I have a handle on this. They don't even have my real name. Here, I'm Trouble, the Time Traveler who heals and fights for people and ends wars. Once things get started, we can leave and I'll be Kathryn again, just for you."

She pulled against his grip and the Doctor let go. He sat quietly as she left the meeting room. Once the door had closed he inspected the thing that had come off in his hand.

"SecondHands," he mused, looking at the nearly invisible glove. "Hope she can get a replacement." The Doctor sighed. "I hope she remembers that she needs to get a replacement."

* * *

"Trouble?"

Kathryn looked blankly up at Francis. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was asking if you thought we should push harder for the healthcare or the voting."

"Voting," Kathryn answered, half her mind obviously somewhere else. "Get a toe-hold in politics and a say in government. That will probably bring its own wave of problems, but you'll need the speaking power."

"Are you alright?" Marie asked. "You seem to be somewhere else."

Kathryn smiled self-depreciatingly. "Sorry. I said when this started I'm not much for diplomacy or politics. I just have history to look at."

"Is that what you and the Doctor were discussing?" Ray asked. "History?"

"History depends on where you are in time, I guess. Or your age and experience." Kathryn looked at Charlene. "Are you sure you're up to taking the minutes for our side? You aren't completely healed yet."

"Oh, I wish we could all go," Marie said. "The first meeting of peace in nearly quarter of a century and only three of us can show up? It's hardly what I'd call open."

"We all saw the note," Kathryn said. "The Doctor and I will each bring only two people. As much as I enjoy contradicting the Doctor, I agree with him on this. It's only going to be a shouting match, so it's probably better with less people. Lathezia will be there and I don't want him sitting too easy, which is the biggest reason I asked Julius; that and his rank of Lieutenant-General. Rank and age is why I want Major-General Charlene Mailand there as well."

"What do you want us to do?" Francis asked, thankfully stopping any protests Marie might have had. Kathryn shook her head, shrugging.

"Wait. Don't cause a ruckus. Think carefully about the best ways to have anything done; you can't complain if you haven't got reasonable alternatives. Be ready for when we come back steaming because no one will be listening."

"If they won't listen, why are we here?"

"Because you have to start somewhere Makenzie, and an argument always worked for me. Heck, some people you never get past the argument stage, but you can still work it out in the arguing. So, we argue."

Someone tapped Kathryn's shoulder and she turned to look up at Julius. He gestured over his shoulder. "Can I speak with you for a moment?"

Kathryn blinked, a little surprised, but shrugged in agreement and followed Julius behind a half-partition where they could speak privately. "What's up?"

"Are you really here for this Kathryn?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Your mind hasn't been here for the past hour and a half, and we're going in soon. Did the Doctor say something to put you off?"

"He just knows what buttons to push, that's all." Kathryn shook her head. "We talked about the timing of events some."

"Does the Doctor also think that I'm out of place?" Julius asked in jest. Kathryn smiled.

"He thinks that something is. It's not big enough to go all the way back to fix it, and trust me; it is a serious pain to correct a fixed point. The American Revolutionary War? Major mess to get all that straightened out."

"Why did you think I was the odd man out?"

The surge of unpleasantness went through Kathryn's stomach at something in Julius' voice. She raised her eyebrows coolly. "How did you know what TARDIS stood for?"

"I've studied the stories."

"You told me that she was never given a name other than the Blue Box. How did you know?"

Julius shrugged, lifting his hands with his shoulders. "It was probably a footnote," he explained. "You pick up all sorts of everything when you make a study of something, and when you research a subject like the Doctor, everything could really be everything."

Kathryn watched Julius for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. I just felt…" She waved a hand. "Eh. Nothing."

"What?"

"No, it's nothing. Just nothing."

"Is it something else the Doctor said?"

It wasn't, but Kathryn still nodded. "He talked about legends and what happens to the people once the fairytale is over. Once things start rolling along between the races, the Doctor and I are leaving. I guess I feel the back cover coming on, that's all."

"Why would your story end? You travel elsewhere; don't you start new ones?"

Kathryn smiled. "Just because Beriin has experts that study the Doctor's life doesn't mean the companions' names get recorded. We change far too often."

"But surely you would be mentioned alongside the Doctor somewhere?"

Kathryn didn't want to answer the question. She tilted her head sideways. "How are you able to not say his name like it's a spell?"

Julius smiled at her. "When you've seen inside the Blue Box, met the Doctor, and seen one of his companions walk off the pages of the story, it almost feels too real. Part of me wishes you hadn't come; it was more exciting when you were a legend."

"Am I the legend, or am I part of the Doctor's?"

"Depends on who you ask," Julius said soberly. "Some would say all hope hung on you. Some would call you the greatest threat since the Last Great Time War. Others still would say that you and the Doctor hover in balance with each other and worlds will fall if the balance is disturbed. However—"he nodded towards where the Iuhins were—"ask them and they'd swear you were more wonderful than the Doctor is, because you're the one who stepped out of the ether to save them."

Kathryn stared up at Julius. "And what do you say?"

"I say that they're all true. And I would also say that you, Kathryn Trouble Moore, and what you do in the future, is the most crucial thing in the universe."

Kathryn breathed deeply, feeling her face go hot as Julius looked down at her. They both jerked when someone knocked on the door to the suite.

"Escort," Julius said, swallowing. "Has to be. It's about time for them to be here." He smiled at her. "Ready Trouble?"

"I'm always ready to make trouble," Kathryn confirmed, smiling back.

Kathryn felt hands grip her shoulders, a spark, and then Julius walked past her. She stood a few seconds more, then smiled broadly before containing herself. She'd probably just had the fastest kiss in history.


	10. Chapter 10

Twenty minutes into the meeting, it was obvious to the Doctor that it was going to get nowhere. It was probably clear to the others as well, but they were far more stubborn and had more personal reasons to keep going. Charlene and Yeseana—who Lathezia had insisted join the group—were busy taking minutes on all that was said, though right now it was a circular argument about voting power vs. being un-educated about political workings. Right now it was mostly Julius and Lathezia battling; even Kathryn had stopped trying as of five minutes ago.

The Doctor had taken no part in any of this. The Iuhin representatives had already been sitting on their side of the table when the Doctor, Lathezia, and Yeseana had entered the room. Charlene had been sitting nervously while Julius and Kathryn spoke quietly together. The Doctor had scanned Kathryn to reassess her attitude and had seen Julius withdraw his hand from her arm. So; something there. It was sad, but he supposed not un-expected considering her age and state of mind.

It had all begun civilly enough, with the legend figures sitting flanked by their chosen attendees. Problems had been outlined and priorities had been discussed. Then it had degenerated rapidly into the current shouting spree. It was as if Julius and Lathezia had some other kind of personal vendetta between them that fueled the disagreement. It would have been childish had it not been so harsh and twisted, full of veiled references to something else.

"No, that isn't what I'm saying!" Julius hissed. "I've explained this several times, insect."

"No, I hear and understand you, lizard," Lathezia clicked rapidly. "I just see no way that I would allow that to happen."

"Allow? It isn't your place to 'allow' anything; we could have you flooded in twelve hours with the Labyrinth, use a page from your book and take you down from the inside."

"Threats and disruption from the inside?" Lathezia mocked. "That doesn't sound like a thing your sort would do, now does it?"

"Oh, the Krize rules aren't so strict with Planter Jahra like you."

The Doctor felt every nerve in his body sing with instant tension. He could see the absolute shock in Kathryn's face as well as the built in fear at the race names. Julius and Lathezia were paying no attention to either of them.

"The Krize are such hypocrites about Jahra like me," Lathezia sneered. "So what if Logan Lathezia never existed in history? Neither did Julius Robertson."

The Doctor stood before he realized he was up. This was something very, very new, and very, very worrying. The Rahki had never placed one of their Jahra in an original capacity; Jahra were always replacement recorders. The Krize, polar opposites and total enemies of the Rahki, barely even left their home planet; on the rare occasions that they did they never interfered. No wonder time felt weird here; this war wasn't even supposed to exist, and all because of a single Krize agent and a single Jahra clone.

The Doctor's movement had brought the attentions of Julius and Lathezia down on him. Lathezia grinned. "What? Am I in violation of your Shadow Proclamation, your Gallifreian Laws? To hell with you, Doctor, and all those like you. The Rahki are branching out, placing ripples that you can't help fixing, and all to keep track of her." Lathezia looked at Kathryn, malicious loathing clear even on his face. Kathryn looked stunned.

"Me? What have I done?"

"Oh shut up," Julius snapped at her. He looked back at Lathezia, sneering. "You Jahra always make a mess of timelines with your constant swapping and tampering, but this thing you call Scorch is the absolute limit."

Kathryn looked like she'd been punched in the stomach. Her face was white and she seemed to have trouble breathing. The Doctor felt pity for her, but couldn't help seeing the whole thing from a big-picture perspective; all legends fell. Charlene and Yeseana were still writing, recording the collapse.

Julius was still talking. "Making it was the start of the mess, and then when it becomes apparent that you've lost the thing—"

"No thanks to interfering, mercenary-hiring, coward Krize," Lathezia interjected. Julius, on a roll, ignored him.

"You just create wrinkles instead of hunting it down and reeling it in. What happened to no-holds-barred?" Julius taunted. "Why the dancing?"

"You know perfectly well, Krize," Lathezia smirked back. "Even a low-level starter agent like you knows all of what we're doing, things even your precious Time Lord remnant Doctor doesn't know. Non-interference in the time-lines, right?"

"Since when have you cared?" The Doctor blinked, surprised to hear Kathryn speak. She was staring at Lathezia with a hollow look. "You're run by the Rahki; you have no life except to interfere in time-lines."

"Oh, what a precious naïveté it is to have your own life," Lathezia almost crooned. "To not have all knowledge pushing at your mind. To be able to retain emotion instead of knowing you'll lose all personal memory again and again over the course of the ages. We're all watching for you, Scorch, and we have rewards for bringing back pieces. I should really thank you; you've managed to drop the literal Key to my own life right into my waiting hands."

Julius and the Doctor both went white. "You have my TARDIS Key," the Doctor stated, eyes wider than usual. Lathezia grinned widely.

"Oh yes." He looked back to Kathryn. "As much as I'd love your life as my own, I do not envy what you have waiting."

"It's not even Finished," Julius said quickly, almost protesting in a panic. "You can't control it, not correctly. The Last Stage was never activated; we made certain you didn't have the chance."

"As if Krize fumbling would deter the Rahki," Lathezia said. "You might as well say the death of a Natural Born would bother them. Here; I'll show you."

In a smooth motion, Lathezia reached into the breast pocket of his coat, pulled out a gun, and fired in Charlene's direction.

The Doctor reached for the gun, but Lathezia had already danced back out of reach, exoskeleton shining. He grinned wickedly. "Oh, such a miserable self-sacrifice you are, Scorch. Constant failure at fighting your programing."

The Doctor looked to Kathryn. He could see the laser burn in her shirt and knew she had absorbed the energy in an effort to protect Charlene. But right now Kathryn was kneeling next to a gray, shriveled corpse, clutching her own hand; the same hand the Doctor had removed the invisible SecondHand glove from.

The Doctor heard Julius shouting again. "What use to you is it when that thing kills so easily?"

"Kills? That's what happens when the known universe changes, Krize; things die."

Julius stared at Lathezia for a long moment, then turned wildly to the Doctor. "Doctor, this goes against all I believe but you need to be told—"

He got no further. A single laser burst removed Julius's lower jaw, preventing any sort of warning. Julius collapsed, twitching and hitting frantically at his pockets. There was a small beep, and then he was teleported out. Lathezia snorted.

"There goes another retreat. I won't thank you for a chance at life, Doctor," Lathezia spat. "You owe it to me for giving the Jahra living death." Lathezia shoved a hand in his pocket and also vanished in a transport.

The room was silent. The Doctor looked at the spot Lathezia had been for another moment before looking about the room. There was blood on the floor where Julius had been. Kathryn was still sitting shell-shocked. Charlene was already flaking in death. Only Yeseana was untouched save for confusion. The Doctor looked steadily at him.

"Colonel Yeseana, I promote you to Field-Marshall. Take the records that Major-General Charlene Mailand made and use them with your own. Explain that this war was the by-product of a larger, longer, bigger fight that had nothing to do with your world and no right to be here. You must still deal with the consequences that arose; I advise you to think well and proceed carefully."

Field-Marshall Yeseana stared at the Doctor another moment before nodding once. He stood, took his padd, walked carefully around the table to take Charlene's notes from where she had been sitting, and left the room without a word.

Finally, the Doctor looked to Kathryn. She was still staring at her hand. The Doctor said nothing, watching as Kathryn peeled off her other SecondHand. She looked up at him, broken, confused, young, scared.

"Doctor…I don't want to be a legend anymore."

* * *

The Doctor made excuses with the Ranngour and remaining Iuhin diplomats that he had really only come to take care of the larger issue between Lathezia and Julius. He also told them that Kathryn hadn't had a say in it; she'd had enough criticism for one day. The Labyrinth took them back to the TARDIS, being the fastest way. Back at the Iuhin camp, Kathryn had gone immediately to the people in change of the Iuhin company and reported the story in its entirety, leaving nothing out. The Doctor was painted the hero again; the companion was faded to nothing.

They had left soon after, and currently they were just in the vortex, drifting gently. Kathryn had retreated to her room, leaving the Doctor to make the real repairs. She had done a decent job at it, but not enough to keep the TARDIS working beyond the one journey.

His hands worked automatically. Most of the Doctor's mind was on the last five minutes in the diplomacy room. This was all very wrong and very planned. Someone had put a lot of time and effort into this, carefully arranging everything. But what could be worth all this?

Though the Doctor and Kathryn had never discussed the Krize beyond what their race was, or the Rahki beyond what they made the Jahra for, he thought about the mess a great deal. He knew the full span of the generational hatred bred into Rahki, the morals the Krize clung to, and for whatever reason both races were centered in on Kathryn; Scorch as they had called her back in the meeting room. She had been made carefully by the Rahki, so carefully that as strong a race as the Krize would step off their planet to tamper with her.

Yet…yet she was just…Kathryn! Fifteen year old, still growing, still learning, Kathryn! The Doctor was certain that she had no knowledge of what was surrounding her. She didn't even want to think about what might be; she was too concerned about living today and running now. But unlike the Doctor, Kathryn couldn't run forever.

The Doctor's greatest fear was that when she did hit the wall at the end, she wouldn't be the only thing stopping.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this re-write.

So, for anyone bothering to read my stuff, here's how to continue the story: go to my Profile page and read "American Bred 10 Coup at the Institute". Yes, this story was number 10 as well, but it was 10.2. Remember, "Coup at the Institute". Soon I will have the re-written versions of "When the Sky Falls In" and "And She Lived" up. When that is done I'll post the correct reading order on my Profile page. If anyone really, really wants to read an updated version of my first Coup at the Institute, send me memo and I'll get on it.

Thanks again for reading.


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